Good news for accountants and clients as the Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016 is published by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The Bill proposes to introduce a small companies regime and a micro companies regime which, when enacted, will allow for the use in Ireland of Section 1A of FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland by small companies and FRS 10 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entites Regimeby micro companies. Small and micro companies are as defined, see section 15 of the Bill. The thresholds for small companies are proposed to be raised to the EU maximum levels of: turnover not exceeding €12 millionand balance sheet total not exceeding €6 million.

Other features include

• More companies with subsidiaries will be required to produce group financial statements as the exemption on the grounds of size is to be confined to micro and small companies;

• Medium size companies are to be required to file the full shareholders’ financial statement without any abridgement;

• The scope for unlimited companies to avoid filing financial statements is much reduced. The Bill amends certain definitions in this regard and refers to unlimited companies where the “ultimate beneficial owners enjoy the protection of limited liability”;

• Investment companies (including certain UCITS investment companies formed under the Companies Act) will be required to file annually their directors’ report and financial statements with the CRO; and

• large companies, groups and PIEs active in the mining, extractive and logging industries to the CRO reports of payments to Governments annually – new Part 26 of the Companies Act 2014.